HF Habs: What are your initial impressions of the Habs 2023 Draft class?

[Treal]

Pretty underwhelming at quick glance. For a draft that was hyped as one of the most deepest drafts for offense, MTL somehow managed to come out of it without any of the frequently hyped names while *initially holding 3 picks in the top 40. Time will tell if they were right but it's hard to get excited about this prospect pool.

I never for one second believed that Hughes was going to pick Michkov but I wanted SJ to pick him just so Will Smith would fall to MTL as he always was my ''realistic'' pick. Also, all the picks after Fowler sound like cpu generated prospects in the NHL games

 

[Dach Vader]

I don't know much about this class, I did not want Michkov, I badly wanted Will Smith, so I went into the draft expecting to be disappointed and boy was I.

Hopefully they drafted the next Seider, if not then the rebuild hasn't even started yet.

Exactly how I felt & feel.

Disappointed to not get Smith.
Happy to add a great prospect like Reinbacher. I have a good feeling about him.

 

[Frankenheimer]

Maybe the real rebuild was all the shitty picks we made along the way.

 

[Toene]

But the entire 2-days were meh. And doesn't leave me with hope that much. They'll need to do so much more. 'cause don't look...but other teams are on a freakin train.

I'm looking at Buffalo and their rebuild and I'm like damn, I'm jealous... But at the same time, they've been ass for so long. Would they trade this decade+ of bottom-feeding results and prospects for a cup final and two conference finals? I don't know.

One positive thing in our case, we know our core is good in the playoffs when the stakes are high, they literally proved it 2 years ago (Suzuki, Caufield). Then we added players that are in my opinion absolute gamers in Guhle and Xhekaj, and players who excelled in adult international tournaments at a young age in Slaf and Hutson. But it's gonna require more to contend. An offensive stat would've gone a long way. On the other hand, if Reinbacher can be comparable to Guhle (who's already a top pairing D as a rookie imo), that's two minute-munchers you can play 30 minutes each in the playoffs in all situations and that's a great recipe for a cup.

Edit : Does Michkov projects as a Matthews or a Marner? Ask the Leafs if they'd prefer to have had Marner or prime McDonagh during their last "run". Don't think they'd hesitate.

 

[Frankenheimer]

The most frustrating part is that you could always trade Michkov later if you want a steady top 4 D. That was also a possibility. But then you actually have the choice. And the reason we know this is that if you tried trading Reinbacher today for Michkov we'd probably have to add Caufield.

I honestly couldn't believe it. Straight uppercut to the jewels. Even when we were 110 pt teams in the last 20 years, it felt lame. "goal scoring by committee" F the committee. Fed up.

 

[Mikah]

I think you must also add what you think of Alex Newhook into the equation since we took him in place of #31 and #37. I hope everyone is doing that.

Knowing now that Ethan Gauthier was still available at #37, I think getting Newhook was a big mistake.

Add on top that we could have picked a high ranked goalie like Hrabal who is also a monster at 6'7'' with the #31...

Gulyayev was not a good fit. Too many small, highly skilled D is never a good idea, and we already have Hutson in the pipeline who I think is better.

I would have picked Mitchkov, but I understand the safe move at #5. The trade for 31 and 37 did not make sense to me, seeing now what we missed.

 

[GlassesJacketShirt]

Mailloux's best fit is with Guhle, IMO, so, yeah, not a good fit at all with Hutson.

Reinbacher's potential mission is not to be a #1 D, but rather to enable Hutson to be a #1D and the offensive dynamo he has the potential to become.

If that's what Reinbacher can accomplish as a shutdown D with offensive upside, we'll be in business. Reinbacher could also team up with Guhle in specific game situations to shutdown the opponent and hold onto tenuous leads late in a game.

There appears to be multifarious upside to acquiring Reinbacher at this draft. I'm not sold it was abetter idea than picking Michkov, but, it has a potential to fill a glaring need at D for the Habs.

However, there is an argument to be made that HuGo still considered that Reinbacher, for them, was the BPA, not just a pick based on current need.

I'm uneven about this way of thinking with a fifth overall pick. I look at other teams with these dynamos (Colorado, Ottawa at their peak with Karlsson, Fox, etc.) and these teams found ideal partners without needing to use such high capital to do so. It better be because they think Reinbacher can be an outright stud on his own terms, not a compliment, otherwise I would be very worried about the future of this team.

 

[Wats]

People were saying Habs won the 2012 and 2013 NHL drafts. Way too early to judge but basing on preliminary guessing Il give it a C.

People were happy about the McCarron draft?

 

[Frank Drebin]

People were happy about the McCarron draft?

we probably got "steals" in the later rounds

 

[LaP]

Meh! Voted C. This said we only had two good picks can't really blame the scouts too much. I'm not too mad about Reinbacher. He was my 2nd choice. We honestly needed goalie prospects and Fowler and Miller are certainly good goalie prospects. Wish we would have kept the 31st and 37th though. That's my main disappointment about this draft. And Xhekaj he would have probably been available in the 5th round but no big deal.

 

[BenchBrawl]

The most frustrating part is that you could always trade Michkov later if you want a steady top 4 D. That was also a possibility. But then you actually have the choice. And the reason we know this is that if you tried trading Reinbacher today for Michkov we'd probably have to add Caufield.

I honestly couldn't believe it. Straight uppercut to the jewels. Even when we were 110 pt teams in the last 20 years, it felt lame. "goal scoring by committee" F the committee. Fed up.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[HuGort]

F- for strategy we literally just went based off of needs. I thought Timmins got fired already.

Doesn't really you much hope for next draft. This draft was suppose to be exceptional good. Next draft is projected weaker draft.

 

[Frank Drebin]

Doesn't really you much hope for next draft. This draft was suppose to be exceptional good. Next draft is projected weaker draft.

I think we just have to hope that we get stupid lucky with a McAvoy/Pastrnak/Jason Robertson type pick.

 

[1909]

Habs had to pick Michkov. IF he doesn't work down the road between him and them, just trade his rights for some other very good assets.

Whichever angle we are trying to look at it, Habs look bad in this storyline.

 

[Rob Sense]

Mailloux's best fit is with Guhle, IMO, so, yeah, not a good fit at all with Hutson.

Reinbacher's potential mission is not to be a #1 D, but rather to enable Hutson to be a #1D and the offensive dynamo he has the potential to become.

If that's what Reinbacher can accomplish as a shutdown D with offensive upside, we'll be in business. Reinbacher could also team up with Guhle in specific game situations to shutdown the opponent and hold onto tenuous leads late in a game.

There appears to be multifarious upside to acquiring Reinbacher at this draft. I'm not sold it was abetter idea than picking Michkov, but, it has a potential to fill a glaring need at D for the Habs.

However, there is an argument to be made that HuGo still considered that Reinbacher, for them, was the BPA, not just a pick based on current need.

Hutson will never be a 1D. That means playing 25+ every game against the best lines. Not gonna happen.

I just figured out how we turn this draft day into a win…

We likely drafted the best Dman and best goalie out of the draft class…

yes and Santa Claus will be here is a bit over 6 months!

 

[TheHabs BruinRipper]

would have loved Edstrom, Hrabal, Gulyayev

 

[Rob Sense]

Early to judge, but I went with a C for now. I'm a big fan of Reinbacher and he was my non-Michkov preference at 5 for a while so I'm pleased with that. I won't pretend I have scouted Fowler at all either, but I'm happy to get a B+ goalie prospect who's considered in the top tier from this draft.

Dislike Xhekaj Jr. since it seems like basically a non-pick to me, Pezzetta is the plausible upside and that's effectively a guy you just keep around for team morale. I've never heard of Konyushkov before today but the basic statistical profile and development arc is actually really interesting, I'm kinda excited by that pick and intrigued to see where he'll go. The goalies are goalies, whatever, cool with drafting a QMJHL goalie to play in Laval in a couple years, and the Russian G will be a guy you just sit and wait since you keep his rights forever. Harris, Eriksson, and Mittelstadt all just seem like pretty generic

The draft itself is certainly underwhelming, but I was convinced 2012 and 13 were amazing and they were dogshit. We also got Newhook out of those traded picks and I can't complain too much about that. I understand the disappointment for sure, but I'm definitely willing to wait and see here, especially because Konyushkov seems very intriguing.

this is another one in the dogshit pile...wasting a tank and a loaded draft! We will be mediocre for another decade or two.

 

[Deebs]

 

[JoelWarlord]

this is another one in the dogshit pile...wasting a tank and a loaded draft! We will be mediocre for another decade or two.

Eh, think that's rather extreme. Whether you believe that or not I don't think Michkov vs Reinbacher or Newhook vs whoever your draft crushes were at 31 + 37 really decides that.

 

[Beaker]

I like the Fowler pick I guess

 

[HabsTown]

I’ve lost the already little confidence I had in Bobrov and Lapointe. I’d picked Michkov 500% but I’ll still cheer for Reinbacher. He’s a good prospect on his own and he didn’t ask for all that. I hope he’s mentally tough. Playing in Montreal is no joke but the context is just adding a big layer of pressure as he’ll always be compared to Michkov..he doesn’t need that on top of the usual pressure. Hoping he doesn’t break.

Back to Bobrov and Lapointe:

Their respective track record clearly shows they can’t play the game of the ’smartest guy in the room’. I wouldn’t even let them select the toppings on my pizza, I don’t trust them to that extend.

Here’s an idea:

For round 3+, prepare a list and sort all players based on PPG only (F and D) and use a tool to caliber score based on the league the player is playing in. Pick best PPG score on the list every time.

Guy is small? Guy can’t skate? He put up 110 pts in 65 games? Pick him. I don’t care. Pick up the highest producers. Most will not translate to NHL but you get a better chance to hit a HR at some point..at least with those 2 in charge.

 

[HabsWhiteKnightLOL]

Never wanted to punch my screen that badly

 

[John B]

Habs needed to swing for the fences a little more here. They already have plenty of prospects like the ones they drafted this year. Pretty disappointed with the draft for the Habs.

 

[Naslundforever]

Habs had to pick Michkov. IF he doesn't work down the road between him and them, just trade his rights for some other very good assets.

Whichever angle we are trying to look at it, Habs look bad in this storyline.

They look just fine from where I’m sitting; I feel your storyline stars you as gm (just pulling your leg)

 

[ClasslessGuy]

Hate it so probably elite